Part 1, Section 4: Corn
Corn
TYPES
High-lysine corn
All protein is a combination of building blocks called amino acids. Although normal dent corn contains about 9.4 percent protein, the quantity of two essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophane, is below nutritional requirements for nonruminant animals and humans. High-lysine (opaque- 2) corn corrects this deficiency and may be advantageous in swine feeding rations. High-lysine corn also has virtually no hard or vitreous starch in the kernel.
Adapted varieties of high-lysine corn are limited in number and generally are lower in grain yield than normal dent corn varieties. The softer kernels of lysine corn break and crack more often at harvest, which can lead to higher incidences of kernel or ear rot. Because cross-pollination results in normal dent corn, high-lysine corn production fields must be isolated from other corn fields. A separation distance of 100 yards is suggested.